The Bombay High Court on Thursday ordered protesting doctors in the state to call off their strike and resume duties and give the government some time to provide them proper security.
This comes as Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis appealed to the doctors to call off their strike as well and assured them that the government would ensure their security in hospitals.
Meanwhile, the doctor agitation has spread to Delhi as well with more than 20,000 resident doctors in 40 hospitals going on casual mass leave.
The HC also ordered the government to provide adequate security at government hospitals for the doctors, so that they could go to work without fear. The High Court further said that it would hear the matter again after 15 days.
The High Court Chief Justice further asked the government that no punitive action was to be taken against the protesting doctors once they resume their duty.
Nearly 4,000 resident doctors have been striking since Monday, demanding enhanced security in the wake of a string of attacks on doctors by patients' relatives at government hospitals across the state.
The protests have been hampering the services of Out-Patient Departments (OPDs) in various hospitals. Last night, a woman doctor of the civic-run Sion hospital here was allegedly beaten up by the relatives of a patient, which made the stand of the protesting medicos more aggressive.
The civic-run KEM Hospital in Mumbai has started issuing suspension notices to the doctors who did not report to duty despite state Medical Education Minister Girish Mahajan asking them to resume work by last evening.
The Indian Medical Association -- which has some 40,000 members in Maharashtra -- had yesterday also extended support to the agitation.
The Full Time Medical Teachers' Association attached to Thane Municipal Corporation-run Rajiv Gandhi Medical College in the neighbouring district also issued a written letter extending support to the doctors' protest.
Meanwhile, three persons have been booked for allegedly beating up the woman doctor in Sion hospital last night, police said today.
The doctor was allegedly slapped and beaten up by the relatives of a four-month-old girl, who was admitted in the hospital for treatment of pneumonia, they said. The patient's mother and her other relatives alleged that the doctor was not providing proper medical treatment to the child, a police official said.
After the incident, the doctors present in the hospital gathered and protested in the premises, he said. Later, the hospital administration called the police and the patient's mother was taken into custody, he said. The woman doctor also complained to the hospital administration about the incident, he said. The Sion police today registered an offence against the patient's mother and her two relatives under IPC section 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), the official said.
According to the data of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's medical department, the present strength of security personnel in KEM hospital is 210 and there is an additional requirement of 306 guards. The current strength of security staff in Sion hospital is 180 and there is an additional requirement of 206. In the Nair hospital, which is also run by the BMC, presently 97 security personnel are deployed and there is an additional need of 133.
The Maharashtra government has already promised to deploy 500 security personnel from Maharashtra State Security Corporation in the hospitals by April 1. The Medical Education Minister yesterday said that by April-end, 1,130 guards will be recruited in government hospitals to prevent attacks.
He also said that Rs 33 crore has been sanctioned for the recruitment of guards.
(With inputs from PTI)
Comments
0 comment